Free The Great Cat Massacre by Gareth Rubin

previously captured Quebec from the French. Thus, it wasn’t long before they were inflicting stinging defeats on the rebels, driving the Americans’ leader, George Washington, and his forces out of New York and New Jersey. It seemed victory was assured for Britain; only the onset of winter forced Howe to halt the campaign and settle down in lodgings until the weather changed. Unluckily for him, this allowed the colonists to escape to a very basic camp they had established in Pennsylvania.
    As the winter grew colder, the rebels’ condition worsened. They were poorly supplied and demoralised. Many were deserting – there was nothing to stay for, and if they were defeated and taken prisoner things would be much worse than if they just drifted off. Even their financial backers were cutting off funds as the fight appeared hopeless and punishment by the royalists looked ever more likely.
    So the British forces were happy to sit it out and watch, planning a final decisive push in the spring. This might well have come to pass had one of the King’s most experienced officers not handed the colonists a stunning victory wrapped up like a Christmas present. It turned the war around and led the revolutionaries to ultimate victory.
    Among the most efficient sections of the British Army were the Hessian regiments from Germany. These weren’t mercenaries as the Yanks often portrayed them, but troops loyal to their ruler, the equally Germanic King of Britain, George III (of Hanover). Not only were they excellent fighting forces, but they were also used to foraging for their supplies – i.e. taking them wherever they could find them, which didn’t endear them to the local farmers. They also spoke little English so would shoot first and ask questions never, because there was little point in asking the American colonists questions in German.
    Eyeing the Hessian troops on the other side of the icy River Delaware, Washington came up with a plan. He would give morale a huge boost if he inflicted a defeat on the hated Germans. And it was winter, when no one ever fought, so they wouldn’t be expecting an attack. His tenacious plan was to have two large rebel regiments cross the ice floes on the river; they would surprise the Hessians and possibly inflict some sort of defeat.
    So it was that on the night of 25 December 1776 Washington personally led one of the two regiments, comprising 2,400 men, across the ice. They managed the difficult crossing, but the other force failed to make it. And, although the Hessians numbered only 1,500, they werebetter-armed, better-trained, better-disciplined troops than the ragtag Americans. It would be a very balanced affair.
    At least the colonists had the element of surprise in their favour, which they made sure of by approaching in darkness, even though this made their crossing more dangerous and much slower – so slow, in fact, that they were seriously behind schedule. Instead of attacking at sunrise on Boxing Day, they were still marching towards the Hessians as the sun came up.
    This meant that they were spotted on the road by a farmer loyal to the Crown (many colonists were very much opposed to independence) and said farmer, realising what was about to happen, rushed to warn the German troops. Huffing and puffing, he made it to the door of Colonel Johann Rall, their commander. At this point, one would presume the seasoned soldiers would realise vital information was coming their way and make all haste to prepare defences. Instead, the guard on the door refused to allow the farmer entry, explaining the colonel was halfway through a very interesting game of chess and had left strict instructions not to be disturbed. The farmer, a little distraught, therefore wrote out a note explaining that the gentleman’s troops were all about to be massacred, and asked for it to be passed to the officer. The guard passed it along and it found its way to Rall. But it was in English and Rall spoke only German. He